Rushmore State News

John Thompson, a 44-year-old resident of Fort Thompson, South Dakota, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for abusive sexual contact. The sentencing was delivered by U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte on September 22, 2025.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Thompson will also serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Thompson was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2024 and pleaded guilty on June 20, 2025. The conviction is related to an incident that occurred between August 1, 2010, and August 31, 2011, on the Crow Creek Sioux Indian Reservation. During this period, Thompson fondled the genitalia of a boy who was under twelve years old.

The prosecution was carried out by the U.S. Attorney’s Office under the Major Crimes Act, which requires certain violent crimes in Indian Country to be prosecuted federally rather than at the state level.

"This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc."

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services – Crow Creek Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.

Following sentencing, Thompson was immediately taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.